Social Action Committee – a Long History of Relevant Engagement
The Social Action Committee came out of the larger work of the church, which in previous years worked in opposition to the Vietnam War as well as opposition to US intervention in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala under the ministry of Rev. Finley Schaef. PSUMC was a forum for education and discussion and hosted speakers such as Daniel Ortega, the president of the revolutionary Nicaragua .
Following September 11, 2001, PSUMC was a center of support as well as action, offering support groups to those individuals traumatized and in despair. We also felt the calling to reach out to our Muslim neighbors who were being rounded up and detained en masse following the events of September 11. Under the ministry of Rev. Elizabeth Braddon and in collaboration with the Coney Island Avenue Project, members of our congregation participated in actions to see that those being held were treated humanely and offered due process.
The Social Action Committee’s focus on issues of war and peace continued with the onset of the second Iraq War. A spring 2006 forum on Iraq offered perspective on the war from groups such as Voices in the Wilderness and Iraqi Veterans Against the War. Monthly Peace Vigils in Park Slope focused attention on the war, educating the community about the human and economic cost of the war. We became active in Brooklyn Parents for Peace (now Brooklyn for Peace).
The Social Action Committee has collaborated with other community organizations and organizations of faith on local, national and international social justice issues. In 2006 the Social Action Committee raised awareness about the impact of poverty in the world by supporting the United Nation’s Millennium goals and facilitating an all-church participation in a Stand Up Against Poverty event. Also in 2006, we worked with Park Slope’s Congregation Beth Eloheim and other faith-based institutions to co-sponsor a successful candidates’ debate night that focused on our local Congressional race. We have offered educational forums discussing the impact the Ratner Atlantic Yards Project would have on the quality of life for Brooklyn residents.
Click here to return to the Social Action Committee’s main page to see how you can get involved in the committee’s current work.